"The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits." G.K. Chesterton

Monday, May 27, 2013

It Goes Without Saying.

After a decade of a comfortable tenure as reader in baroque logics, Lev felt the onset of an uninspiring impasse coming on. He could sense the cold, judgemental gaze of his best work in the field of non-normal world conjuration, staring at him from the old, dust covered journal volumes, stacked neatly on the shelf near his desk.

Some say that it must have been the mixture of mundane routine and the onset of his flourishing that led him to leave the academy. Before his seven year disappearance many of his close associates reported that Lev’s long cherished, yet latent interest in eastern philosophy – Zen Buddhism in particular – took the form of an obsession. He would constantly talk of the higher jhanas, emptiness and other eastern concepts. Subsequently his interest in quietist philosophy grew. It is believed that he wrote this haiku just weeks before his now legendary departure.

a field of wheat
waving in the breeze
whispers

It is commonly agreed that he spent most of the time in India, Tibet, China and Japan. But it was the series of events which unraveled over the next seven years after his return, that made Lev one of the pivotal figures of 21st century philosophy – in particular the establishment of the field that has become to be known as radical quietism. Although a term which Lev never himself used, the foundation of radical quietism has been unanimously attributed to him by philosophy historians.

His seminal publication in the Hush! Quarterly, is nowadays considered as the turning point in Lev’s philosophical career – this 37 blank page tour de force established him once and for all as the founding father of this new approach, or as some say – style, to philosophical inquiry. His associates and peers agreed that this indeed was the most that he didn’t say in decades. This revolutionary publication, or radical quietism manifesto as it is often referred to, received an immediate non-reply of awe and the highest acclaim from the Hush! Quarterly editors and the quietist community at large.

More papers followed. In the subsequent seven highly productive years, Lev published over thirty papers, each no less brilliant than the preceding ones; each with an equal clarity to the initial gem; each beaming with equal passion and fervor of Lev's intrepid genius. Also given that each subsequent article referenced precisely the previous ones, including page numbers, a complete body of work emerged over that decade which rightfully so is unanimously considered as the foundation and the purest source of not only radical quietism, but quietism in general.

The Poet, the Chemist, and the Physicist.

The trio met one day over some wine and discussed matters of rhyme, thyme and time. Soon the conversation turned to the notions of nothingness and emptiness - what is empty? The poet finished his glass, and pointed to it --- as far as I am concerned this glass is empty, as it is devoid of wine - the sparkling grape, the drink of gods. Hold on a minute! --- exclaimed the chemist --- surely it's not empty as it contains air - we'd have to pump all the air out of the glass, creating a vacuum in it, and then and only then would it be empty. It wouldn't make any difference to me --- replied the poet, shrugging his shoulders. Please let me interject at this juncture dear fellows --- interjected the physicist --- and let me put an end to your obvious confusion. Vacuum, as you describe it doesn't cut it at all, since we know that even empty space is a breeding ground for virtual particles whose immediate annihilation results in what we observe and call vacuum energy. The poet looked at the physicist with a frown of suspicion --- I know nothing when I see it good man, and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise - let the bartender settle this matter - haloo, good fellow! Another round please!